Grass-receptacle for lawn-mowers.



No. 744,657. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903;

LA FAYETTE WILDBRMUTH.

GRASS REGEPTAOLE FOR LAWN MOWERS. APPLICATION FILED 811M216, 1903.

1 I no MODEL.

m: NORRIS pz zns ca, wow-L mo WASHINGTON D. c.

UNITED STATES Patented. November 1'7, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GRASS-RE CEPTACLE FOR LAWN-MOWER S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,657, dated November 17, 1903. Application filed September 16, 1903. serial No. 173,453. (lilo modell To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LA FAYETTE WILDER- MUTH, a citizen of the United States, residing atOolumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usef ul Grass Receptacle for Lawn Mowers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to grass-receptacles for lawn-mowers, such as are represented in Letters Patent No. 715,721, granted to me December 9,1902. resented a framework which is extensible transversely for attachment to mowers of varying widths, said frame being provided with a fabric covering constituting its side and end and bottom. It has been found in practice that when the frame is not extended to its fullest extent the fabric bottom,which under such conditions will be loose, tends to sag and contact with the ground, especially when the receptacle is loaded or partially loaded with grass. In the construction of said patent the frame-is also provided with forwardly extending arms carrying hooks for engagement with the slots in the roller-adjusting links. This arrangement has in practice proven satisfactory for attaching the device to mowers in which said' slots are disposed upon the outer faces of the mower-frame, but has been found to be defective to the extent that in some types of mowers the slots are disposed upon the inner faces of the frame,thus rendering'imp'ossible attachment of the receptacle thereto by this particular form of connection. I

The present invention has for its objects to obviate these objectionable-features and to improve generally the construction and operation of devices of this character, producing one in which the bottom of the receptacle will at no time sag and one in which the receptacle may be readily attached to all types of mowers nowin general use.

To these ends the invention comprises the novel details of constructionand combination of parts more fullyhereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved receptacle. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is detail section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4is a view of the skeleton frame with the covering and bottomremoved.

Inxsaid patent there .is rep-.

Referring to the drawings, my improved receptacle has, as in my prior patent, a skeleton frame consisting of a top frame-section 1 ing orbending'the wire of the frame upon itself'at said points, while the bottom frame.

consists of side bars 7,-a, rearconnecting-bar 8, and front guide bars or members 9, carried one by each of the side bars and extending transversely across the frame in contact one with the other and in parallel overlapped relation, the bottom frame being pivotally connected wit-h the top frame by extending the guides 9 through the eyes 6, all as shown and described in my prior patent. The only difference between the two constructions resides in the fact that in the present instance the wire forming the top frame is, after bending to form the eyes 6 at the lower ends of the arms 5, extended forwardly in the form of short substantially horizontal arms 10, each provided at its terminal with an eye 11, said eyes being designed for the reception of attaching-bolts, by which the deviceis secured to a mower. At this point it maybe mentioned that 'in all classes of mowers now in general use the roller attachment is secured by a bolt at each end, extending through the adjacent sides of the mower-frame, and it is my intention in practice to replace said bolts byothers of a slightly greater length, which will engage throughthe eyes 11, thus permitting ready attachment of the receptacle to any style of mower, the bolts serving in such cases the twofold function of securing. the roller attachment and the receptacle to the machine.

As disclosed in my prior patent, the frame above described is provided with a fabric covering 12, which forms the sides and "end, I

of the receptacle, said fabric being folded and stitched at its edges around the different parts of the frame to which it is attached.

Also, as disclosed in said patent, the front openfend of the receptacle is distensible transversely to permit adjustment of mowers of varying widths, said distention of the frame being against the action of a spring 13, engaged at its ends with the side bars 7 of the bottom frame, and through which spring the guide bars or members 9 extend, the operation of the parts being in all respects identical with my prior device.

In accordance with the present invention I provide the receptacle with a bottom 14, composed of some suitable non-flexible material, preferably galvanized sheet metal, and made up of a plurality of sections 15, preferably two in number, which are secured along their side and rear edges to the sides and end bar of the bottom frame and have their inner edges overlapped throughout their length at the transverse center of the receptacle. The sections 15 are attached to the sides and rear bar of the bottom frame by folding the metal at the sides and rear ends of said sections around said bars and over the previously-attached fabric, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, whereby the latter is at the point of severest wear protected by the thusformed metal covering, while at the same time the attachment of the fabric to the bars is rendered more secure. The sections composing the bottom are at their forward ends entirely free from connection with the frame and from connection with each other along their inner side edges, which, as heretofore mentioned, overlap at the transverse center of the receptacle. The overlapping edges of the sections are out upon an outward incline from their rear to their front ends, whereby the latter are rendered considerably wider than the former and the amount of overlap of the sections is greatest at the front and gradually decreases toward the rear, thus permitting the receptacle to be distended to the fullest extent at its front end without spreading said sections sufifilciently to cause an opening between them. It is to be noted in this connection that the overlapping edges of the sections are disposed for relative sliding movement one above the other and that the bottom will as a whole at all times be free from sagging under the weight of the load; but in order to further insure this latter and to support the sections to a certain extent at the point of overlapping I provide a longitudinal brace 16, disposed at the transverse center of the bottom frame in position for the free edges of the sections to rest thereon, said brace being in the form of a length of wire having its ends engaged with the rear bar 8 and spring 13.

17 is a hanger member attached to the rear cross-bar of the upper frame and provided at its upper end with a hook for engagement with the handle of a mower to support the receptacle at its rear, as in my prior device.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I produce a device of simple construction which may be readily attached to all classes of machines with which it is to be employed and one in which liability of the bottom sagging into contact with the ground is entirely obviated. In attaining these ends it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein set forth, inasmuch as minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination with a receptacle of the class described having an end and sides, of a bottom associated with the receptacle and composed of a plurality of sections relatively distensible transversely at their forward ends and having their inner meeting edges overlapped, and a brace associated with and extending longitudinally of the receptacle beneath the overlapping edges of said sections.

2. The combination with a receptacle of the class described comprising a frame carrying a fabric covering composing the sides and end of the receptacle, said covering being folded around the frame at the points of attachment thereto, and a bottom for said receptacle composed of sheet metal having its edges folded around the frame outside of the previously-attached fabric.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a top frame having side bars and an end connecting bar, of a bottom frame associated with the top frame and comprising side bars and an end bar, a fabric covering having its edges folded around the sides and end bars of the frames at the points of attachment thereto, and a metal bottom associated with the bottom frame by folding the edges of the bottom around the end and side bars of the frame. outside of the previously-attached fabric.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LA FAYETTE WILDERMUTH.

Witnesses:

DORA LOECHLER, E GENE MORGAN. 

